John Roberts

thumb|John G. Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, Shelby County v. Holder, and Riley v. California. He has been described as having a conservative judicial philosophy but, above all, is an institutionalist. He has shown a willingness to work with the Supreme Court's liberal bloc, and after the retirement of Anthony Kennedy in 2018, he has been regarded as the primary swing vote on the Court. Quotes By properly contenting itself with the decision of actual cases or controversies at the instance of someone suffering distinct and palpable injury, the judiciary leaves for the political branches the generalized grievances that are their responsibility under the Constitution. Far from an assault on the other branches, this is an insistence that they are supreme within their respective spheres, protected from intrusion — however welcome or invited — of the judiciary. Separation of powers is a zero-sum game. If one branch unconstitutionally aggrandizes itself, it is at the expense of one of the other branches. Article III Limits on Statutory Standing, Duke Law Journal (1993); partially quoted in http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/opinion/judges-standing-upside-down.html?_r=0 Judges Standing Upside-Down Linda Greenhouse New York Times September 3, 2015 The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. From the majority opinion in the Seattle School District case (28 June 2007) But the First Amendment protects against the Government; it does not leave us at the mercy of noblesse oblige. We would not uphold an unconstitutional statute merely because the Government promised to use it responsibly. [...] The Government’s assurance that it will apply [a statutory provision] more restrictively than its language provides is pertinent only as an implicit acknowledgment of the potential constitutional problems with a more natural reading. United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 1577 (2010) (Opinion of the Court). Alternatively, the Government proposes that law enforcement agencies "develop protocols to address" concerns raised by cloud computing. Probably a good idea, but the Founders did not fight a revolution to gain the right to government agency protocols. Riley v. California, 13-132, 573 U.S. ___, slip opinion at 22 (2014) (Opinion of the Court) Five lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage as a matter of constitutional law... Just who do we think we are? Dissent on Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling — Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015) Rain, somebody said, is like confetti from heaven - so even the heavens are celebrating this morning, joining the rest of us at this wonderful commencement ceremony. Before we go any further graduates, you have an important task to perform, because behind you are your parents and guardians. Two or three or four years ago they drove into Cardigan, dropped you off, helped you get settled and then turned around and drove back out the gates. It was an extraordinary sacrifice for them. They drove down the trail of tears back to an emptier and lonelier house. They did that because the decision about your education, they knew, was about you, it was not about them. That sacrifice, and others they made, have brought you to this point. But this morning is not just about you, it is also about them so I hope you will stand up and turn around and give them a great round of applause, please. Now when somebody asks me how the remarks at Cardigan went I will be able to say they were interrupted by applause. Congratulations class of 2017, you've reached an important milestone; an important stage of your life is behind you. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, it is the easiest stage of your life, but it is in the books. Now while you've been at Cardigan, you have all been apart of an important international community as well and I think that needs, particularly, to be recognized. Now around the country today at colleges, high schools, middle schools, commencement speakers are standing before impatient graduates and they are almost always saying the same things. They will say that today is a commencement exercise, it is a beginning not an end, you should look forward. And I think that is true enough. However, I think if you are going to look forward, to figure out where you're going, its good to know where you've been and to look back as well. And I think if you look back to your first afternoon here at Cardigan perhaps you will recall that you were lonely, perhaps you will recall that you were a little scared, a little anxious. And now look at you; you are surrounded by friends that you call brothers and you are confident in facing the next step in your education. It is worth trying to think why that is so, and when you do I think you may appreciate that it was because of the support of your classmates: in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in the dorms. And as far as the confidence goes, I think you will appreciate that it is not because you succeeded at everything you did, but because, with the help of your friends, you were not afraid to fail. And if you did fail you got up and tried again and if you failed again you got up and tried again and if you failed again – it might be time to think about doing something else. But, it was not just success, but not being afraid to fail that brought you to this point. Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that and I'll tell you why. From time to time, in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal 'cause that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time, so that you don't take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck again from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will, from time to time, I hope every now and then your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you will be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others. And I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not they're going to happen and whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes. Now commencement speakers are also expected to give some advice. They give grand advice and they give some useful tips. The most common grand advice they give is for you to be yourself. It is an odd piece of advice to give to people dressed identically, but you should, you should be yourself; but you should understand what that means. Unless you are perfect it does not mean don't make any changes. In a certain sense you should not be yourself, you should try to become something better. People say be yourself because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can't be yourself if you don't learn who you are and you can't learn who you are unless you think about it. The Greek philosopher Socrates said "The unexamined life is not worth living" and while "Just do it" may be a good motto for somethings it's not a good motto when its trying to figure out how to live the life that is before you. And one important clue to living a good life is not to try to live THE good life. The best way to lose the values that are central to who you are is, frankly, not to think about them at all. So that's the deep advice. Now some tips as you get ready to go to your new school. Over the last couple of years I have gotten to know many of you young men pretty well and I know you are good guys but you are also privileged young men and if you weren't privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is don't act like it. When you get to your new school walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school. Another piece of advice when you pass by people you don't recognize on your walks: smile, look them in the eye, and say “Hello”. The worst thing that will happen is that you will become known as the young man who smiles and says “Hello” and that is not a bad thing to start with. You've been at a school with just boys; most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no advice for you. The last bit of advice I'll give you is very simple but I think it could make a big difference in your life. Once a week, you should write a note to someone, not an email, a note on a piece of paper. It will take you exactly ten minutes. Talk to an adult, let them tell you what a stamp is; you can put the stamp on the envelope. Again, ten minutes, once a week. I will help you right now. I will dictate to you the first note you should write. Dear, fill in the name of a teacher at Cardigan Mountain School. Say I have started at this new school. We are reading blank in English. Football or soccer practice is hard but I'm enjoying it. Thank you for teaching me. Put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it. It will mean a great deal to people who for reasons most of us cannot contemplate have dedicated themselves to teaching middle school boys. As I said that will take you exactly 10 minutes a week. By the end of the school year you will have sent notes to forty people; forty people will feel a little more special because you did and they will think you are very special because of what you did. No one else is going to carry that dividend during your time at school. Enough advice, I would like to end by reading some important lyrics. I cited the Greek philosopher Socrates earlier, these lyrics are from the great American philosopher Bob Dylan. They're almost fifty years old. He wrote them for is son Jessie who he was missing while he was on tour. They list the hopes that a parent might have for a son and for a daughter. They are also good goals for a son and a daughter. The wishes are beautiful, they're timeless, they're universal, they're good and true except for one. It is the wish that gives the song its title and its refrain. That wish is a parent's lament, it's not a good wish. So these are the lyrics from "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan. Roberts' commencement speech for Cardigan Mountain School (2017) We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. Roberts' remarks after President Trump called a judge who had ruled against his migrant asylum order an 'Obama judge' (2018). Quotes about Roberts Either he is a liar or he is too naïve to hold any important job including, and especially, this one. This is like a legal ruling written by the little mermaid. Bill Maher, on Roberts' ruling, "which said spending large sums of money in elections does not give rise to quid pro quo corruption nor the possibility that an individual would garner influence over elected officials"; HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher (4 April 2014), as quoted in "Bill Maher: Ruling shows 'idiots' won", Politico (5 April 2014) Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute Amy Coney Barrett In sum, in Trump v. Barbara, the chief justice let slip his façade. If he wanted to preserve the legitimacy of the judiciary and find a minimalist path, he could have deferred to Congress or even found ways to dismiss the case upon standing grounds or narrow the holding of the decision. Instead, he showed that he was determined to hear this case regardless of any “threshold impediments,” to side against President Trump, and to permanently settle this question of constitutional interpretation. Samuel Kimzey, "‘Judicial Minimalist’ John Roberts Violated Procedures To Write Maximalist Birthplace Citizenship Opinion", The Federalist (July 9, 2026) the people's right to have their day in court is being foreclosed. Corporate victories in federal and state elections work hand in hand with this mission by assuring the nomination of more commercially-responsive judges such as Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Scalia and Alito, with the same being true in many states. Ralph Nader, Breaking Through Power (2016) Chief Justice John Roberts memorably quipped, in the Parents Involved decision that gutted Brown, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," which actually meant, ignore the effects of discrimination by pretending to be color-blind. Adam Serwer, The Cruelty is the Point (2021) While John Roberts was surely chosen for a number of reasons-his thin judicial record not the least of them-I do think the Bushies were aware that his golden-boy appearance would be good PR. Even many Democrats were duped into viewing him as a sort of "moderate" conservative. Beneath the attractive facade and genteel personality, however, lies a hideous, Borkish creature. His rulings since I drew this cartoon have neatly borne out my prediction that he would steer the court to the hard right. Jen Sorensen, Slowpoke: One nation, oh my God! (2008) See also Samuel Alito Amy Coney Barrett Stephen Breyer Neil Gorsuch Ketanji Brown Jackson Elena Kagan Brett Kavanaugh Sonia Sotomayor Clarence Thomas External links Category:John G. Roberts Author:John Glover Roberts Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:People from Buffalo Category:Judges from the United States Category:Lawyers from the United States Category:Chief Justices of the United States Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Catholics from the United States